The Psalms have been prayed for at least 2500 years, perhaps much longer
for certain psalms. The composers of the Psalms were holy, and artists,
too. David has traditionally been known as the originator of the psalms
and the master psalmist. Whatever their original origins, many if not all
psalms eventually came to belong to the public prayer of Israel, and were
probably set to music (thus the name ''psalm'').

The Responsorial Psalm sung or said between the readings at every Mass is
from one of the 150 psalms. Catholics who pray the Liturgy of the Hours
with the Church (priests and religious do this as a matter of obligation)
will sing or recite all 150 psalms over a period of weeks, either in
community or by themselves. Modern scholars generally agree that many (but
not all) psalms can be seen as belonging to one of three different genres,
each with its own particular structure.

Lament

A lament usually includes a) a direct cry to the LORD, b) a statement of
the difficulty, c) an expression of trust, and d) prayer for help. Read
Psalm 22, prayed by Jesus on the Cross. Community laments usually begin
with a retelling of God's Creation or the creation of his people in the
Exodus. Read Psalm 90.

Thanksgiving

These psalms usually describe a terrible difficulty, just like laments,
but state that God has won the victory and rescued the psalmist or the
people. Read Psalm 30.

Hymn

Read Psalm 150.

By subject matter

Modern scholars classify other psalms according to their subject matter.
Read Psalm 23. This most beloved psalm is a ''psalm of trust.'' Psalm 1 is
classified as a ''wisdom psalm.'' Read it. Psalm 2 is a ''royal psalm,''
which affirms the LORD in its affirming of the Israelite king. Read it.
There are also psalms that are clearly part of particular ceremonies.
Psalm 15 was probably sung as the people were admitted to the Temple (the
Temple replaced the Tent of Meeting or ''Tabernacle'' of desert times).
Entry to God's ''tent'' demanded a man's holiness. Read Psalm 15.

There is no particular need to remember these details or to figure out
which psalm fits into which type. Scholars, not the Bible, made up these
types. However, the Psalms pretty plainly do have definite shapes to them.
These well-known forms provide solid, stable foundations for the very
intense and intimate prayer of the Psalms. Read CCC 2585-2589 now.

The Old Testament books with a star * are not any more
or less important than the others. The star indicates that the Catholic
Church definitively professes and knows these books to be part of the
sacred writings, the inspired Word of God [cf. CCC 120], but that they are
specifically rejected by the Jewish people, and called ''apocryphal'' (of
doubtful inspiration) by Protestants.

The fourth book of the Pentateuch, the book of Numbers, got its name
because it

a. contains two censuses of the people of
Israel.b. develops many mathematical theorems.c. has many lists of mystical numbers.

a. by retelling the birth of Moses and his
calling by the LORD.b. in the desert of Sinai just after the
covenantal coming out of Egypt.c. in the land of Egypt before the ten
plagues afflicted the land.

Scholars think that Numbers compiles together many ancient lists,
stories, and traditions into an overall account of the time in the desert.
Some scholars think that the blessing preserved in Num 6:24-26 is one of
the oldest pieces of poetry in all of Sacred Scripture. Read Num 6:22-27.
This blessing is also preserved by the Catholic Church

a. as one of the Solemn Blessings that the
priest may give at the end of Mass.b. as part of the prayer of absolution in
the Rite of Reconciliation.c. in the New Testament, where it appears
in two of the epistles of St. Paul.

One message scholars think is conveyed by the book of Numbers in its
final form is that a lack of covenantal trust in the LORD always led to
additional suffering - which was also meant as a warning to the Jews
living later, for whom Numbers was put together. Moses sends scouts
(spies) into the land that God wishes Israel to enter. Read Num 13
carefully. The scouts (with the exception of Caleb) come back with

a. because they have been severely wounded
by stones thrown at them.b. because they submit themselves entirely
to God's judgment on the matter.c. to show the people that they agree with
their judgment in the matter.

The ''glory of the Lord'' is the term used to speak of God actually
present and evident in his majesty and power. In response to the crisis of
Num 14, God appears in majesty and power, vindicates Moses, and threatens
to destroy the people of God and begin again, this time with Moses's
offspring only. Read Num 14:10-12. Now read Num 14:13-19. Moses

a. asks the LORD to keep the people in the
desert for forty years.b. never questions the judgments of the
LORD, but submits in obedience.c. with confidence dares to intercede for
the people before the LORD.

A ''generation'' was forty years - an entire normal lifetime for most
people of those days. God allows the entire generation that left Egypt to
die in the desert because of their disobedience, but renews the promise to
their children. However, the spies who urged the people to disobey the
Lord die of plague immediately. Read Num 14:20-38.

Num 14:39-45 begins a new story - another disobedience! Now, shaken by
these events, some people want to pretend that their previous disobedience
had not really mattered. In their prior disobedience they had actually
said that they preferred to return to Egypt and be slaves again. Now
(after their decision to sin had caused them further misery) they decided
that they wanted even more slavery. Now they wanted the whole world to be
a world of slavery. They wanted a world in which, no matter what you do,
you are "really" moving closer to the LORD. But to follow the LORD is to
live in a world of true freedom, where it really does matter what you do.
You really can move away from Him.

Some of the people still didn't want that world of
freedom, which the LORD offers all men. It was too hard to live in a world
where your choices really matter. They wanted a "take-back." They wanted
to move directly into the land, as if their sin had not really happened,
had not really harmed them or changed anything or moved them farther from
the LORD, without Moses, without the Ark of the Covenant, without the
LORD. Read Num 14:39-45. What happened to those people?

a. They soon ran back to camp.b. They were slaughtered.c. They were victorious.

Most scholars think that the most important message meant to be conveyed
by the book of Numbers is not the people's continual refusal to walk with
the LORD, nor is it Moses's continual willingness to walk with the LORD.
The key to Numbers, say many scholars, is the fact that the LORD walks
with his people and invites them to walk with him. He makes his tent with
his people, and continues to do so, though they continually wander away
from him. Scholars tell us that the Hebrew word for ''dwells'' is derived
from the word ''to tent'' or ''to walk among as a tent-dweller.'' Recall
that the Tent of Meeting was the Tabernacle, and read Num 1:47-54.

The cloud is a theophany: a visible sign of God's presence. Num 9:15-23
recounts a story of complete faithfulness. The people follow God wherever
he leads. They allow him to rule the days of their journey in the desert.
Continual conflict and disobedience to the LORD is a great theme of
Numbers, but it is not the only one. Faithfulness is also recorded. Given
the rest of Numbers, this is an idealized portrait, yet, after all, the
people were at last faithful, and they did after all enter the land God
had promised them. Read Num 9:15-23. <<

Most modern scholars think that the following six books are closely
associated with Deuteronomy and with each other and form a larger unit in
the Old Testament:

Joshua
Judges
1 and 2 Samuel
1 and 2 Kings

Many ancient traditions of the Jewish people seem to have been brought
together and edited in these books. That does not mean that each of the
books says the same thing or that they have the same viewpoint. For
instance, in distinct contrast to the book of Judges, the book of
Joshua

a. describes an easy and speedy conquest of
the promised land under the competent leadership of Joshua.b. outlines a very slow and uncertain
occupation of the land with the help of various military leaders and
advisors.c. shows the pattern of good and bad kings
that governed Israel up to the time of the Exile in Babylon.

Most scholars find a consistent pattern in Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2
Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings, a pattern that is reinforced by the teaching of
Deuteronomy: the LORD

a. approaches his people, they turn from
him, and the people suffer.b. makes promises to Israel which he never
expects to fulfill.c. rejects the people of Israel, in spite
of their continual faithfulness.

The Old Testament books with a star *
are not any more or less important than the others. The star indicates
that the Catholic Church definitively professes and knows these books to
be part of the sacred writings, the inspired Word of God [cf. CCC 120],
but that they are specifically rejected by the Jewish people, and called
''apocryphal'' (of doubtful inspiration) by Protestants.

Roughly the first half of Joshua

a. describes the conquest of Canaan.b. is a census of the people of Israel.c. restates the laws given to Moses.

Most of the last half of Joshua describes in detail a division of the
promised land to the tribes of Israel. Some scholars believe that this was
done

a. as a way of maintaining peace by
providing highly reliable records of land settlements.b. in order to reinforce the king and
maintain the power and prestige of the house of David.c. to teach that God kept his promise to
Moses and gave the whole land to his people.

a. are Joshua's last words to the people,
which are a collection of wise sayings from ancient times.b. prepare the people for the change to
governance by a royal family, with David as the beginning.c. restate and renew the covenant of the
LORD and urge faithful obedience by the people.

Probably the two most famous stories in Joshua are of Rahab the harlot
(prostitute), and the defeat of Jericho (where ''the walls came a'tumblin'
down,'' as a well-known spiritual puts it). Read Josh 2, the setup to the
story continued in Josh 6.

Now read Ruth 4:18-22 and look for the name 'Salmon.' A tradition
developed that Rahab married the man Salmon mentioned in Ruth 4:18-22, and
thus was the mother of Boaz, who married Ruth. Why is that of interest?
Read Mathew
1:1-5.

Joshua records that the inhabitants of Canaan, those (unlike Rahab) not
devoted to the LORD, were wiped out from the land. Ancient warfare could
be that bloody, but most modern scholars (and the book of Judges) say that
the record of total extermination recounted in Joshua is not historically
accurate. Most scholars say that the story of conquest in Joshua is told
in this way to emphasize that the LORD really does ask total faithfulness.
The foreign gods of the surrounding peoples are not to be worshiped under
any conditions. Now read Josh 6 for the story of Jericho. <<

The Old Testament books with a star *
are not any more or less important than the others. The star indicates
that the Catholic Church definitively professes and knows these books to
be part of the sacred writings, the inspired Word of God [cf. CCC 120],
but that they are specifically rejected by the Jewish people, and called
''apocryphal'' (of doubtful inspiration) by Protestants.

By long common consensus, the book of Jonah is one of the
most delightful stories in the Bible. It is a ''once upon a time'' story
in which the LORD sends Jonah to convert the people of Nineveh to him.
Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria, for a long time the most hated
and feared enemy of the Jewish people.

The literal sense of Jonah appears to be a condemnation of both Jonah's
and many Jews' feelings at the time of its composition. God's judgment
does not fit the crime. He is merciful rather than exacting after
repentance. No one should put limits on God's mercy, imagine that his
mercy is necessarily limited to Israel, or imagine that no other people
could ever turn to the LORD. Read the four short chapters making up the
book of Jonah.

Our Lord himself made the time Jonah spent in the belly of the fish a
type of his death and resurrection. Read Mathew 12:38-41.
<<